Digital certificate management

ABSTRACT

Issuing and managing digital certificates for students is described. A server can receive organization information regarding an educational institution, group information regarding a course, and certificate information regarding the types of content to be displayed upon a digital certificate indicating that a student has completed the course. The server can generate a digital certificate template indicating the types of content and layout of that content for generating digital certificates. The digital certificates can then be generated and published to webpages for students.

CLAIM FOR PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/546,503, entitled “Digital Certificate Management,” By King, andfiled on Aug. 16, 2017. The content of the above-identified applicationis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to digital certificates, and in particularmanaging digital certificates.

BACKGROUND

Organizations often provide certificates to students or employees uponcompletion of training. For example, a university can provide a diplomaas a certificate to a student indicating that the student is a graduatein a particular program offered by the university. A language institutemight provide a certificate to a student indicating that the student isproficient in speaking a particular language. A business might provide acertificate to an employee indicating that the employee has completed aninternal training program.

These certificates are often printed on paper and can also behand-signed, embossed, etc. and then packaged in an envelope and mailed.However, providing certificates to hundreds or thousands of students canbe an expensive and time-consuming process.

SUMMARY

Some of the subject matter described herein includes a method forissuing and managing digital certificates for students of an educationalinstitution or a business institution providing a course for study, thedigital certificate providing an indication of completion of the course,the method comprising: receiving organization information indicating aname of the educational institution or the business institutionproviding the course; receiving group information indicating a name ofthe course; receiving certificate information indicating types ofcontent to be displayed upon the digital certificates to be issued andpositions of the content upon the digital certificates to be issued, thetypes of content selected from the organization information and thegroup information; generating, by a processor, a digital certificatetemplate corresponding to the certificates to be issued to students ofthe course based on the certificate information; receiving recipientinformation indicating students who completed the course and should beissued digital certificates, and the recipient information indicatingemail addresses for each of the students; publishing, by the processor,digital certificates for each of the students based on the digitalcertificate template, each of the digital certificates including contentbased on the certificate information and names of the students asindicated by the recipient information, and each of the digitalcertificates published at a corresponding webpage having a universalresource locator (URL); sending emails to each of the students based onthe email addresses indicated in the recipient information, the emailsproviding each of the students access to their corresponding digitalcertificate published upon the webpages by providing the correspondingURL; and provide the digital certificates for display on webpages whenthe students access the webpages via the URLs.

Some of the subject matter described herein also includes a method,comprising: receiving organization information representing a name of aninstitution providing a course; receiving group information representinga name of the course; generating, by a processor, a digital certificatetemplate representing a layout of information to be displayed upondigital certificates to be issued to students who have taken the course,the information to be displayed upon the digital certificates includingthe name of the institution and the name of the course; receiving a listof names of students who have completed the course, the list of namesincluding a first student; and generating, by the processor, a firstdigital certificate based on the digital certificate template andindicating that the first student has completed the course, thegenerating including generating a first webpage providing the firstdigital certificate as a representation that the first student hascompleted the course.

In some implementations, the first digital certificate includes contentindicating the name of the course, the name of the institution, and thename of the first student.

In some implementations, the list of names also includes a secondstudent, and the method further comprising: generating a second digitalcertificate based on the digital certificate template and indicatingthat the second student has completed the course.

In some implementations, the method includes generating a second webpageproviding the second digital certificate as a representation that thesecond student has completed the course, each of the first webpage andthe second webpage having different universal resource locators (URLs).

In some implementations, the URLs are based on a correspondingcertificate identifier determined upon generation of the first digitalcertificate and the second digital certificate.

In some implementations, the method includes: receiving a request tochange information displayed upon the first digital certificate from thefirst student; and updating content displayed upon the first digitalcertificate to reflect the change requested.

In some implementations, the method includes: receiving, from the firststudent, additional information related to the course; and publishingthe additional information on the first webpage including the firstcertificate.

In some implementations, the additional information includes a coursetranscript, a recommendation from a teacher providing the course, orwork product completed by the student during the course.

In some implementations, the method includes providing a recommendationto the first student regarding another course to complete, therecommendation based on one or both of the name of the course or theadditional information provided by the first student.

Some of the subject matter described herein also includes a system,including: a database configured to store a name of an institutionproviding a course, group information representing a name of the course,and a digital certificate template representing a layout of content tobe displayed upon digital certificates published on webpages forstudents who have completed the course; a certificate generation moduleconfigured to publish a first digital certificate upon a first webpageat a first universal resource locator (URL) based on the digitalcertificate template, the first digital certificate representing that afirst student has completed the course, the first digital certificateincluding the name of the course and the name of the institution; and acertificate provisioning module configured to provide a first message tothe first student providing access to the first webpage with the firstdigital certificate at the first URL.

In some implementations, the first digital certificate includes contentindicating the name of the course, the name of the institution, and thename of the first student.

In some implementations, the digital certificate template indicatespositions of the name of the course, name of the institution, and thename of the first student to be displayed upon the first digitalcertificate.

In some implementations, the certificate generation module is configuredto publish a second digital certificate upon a second webpage at asecond URL different than the first URL and based on the digitalcertificate template, the second digital certificate also indicatingthat a second student has completed the course, the first student andthe second student being different.

In some implementations, the URLs are based on a correspondingcertificate identifier determined upon generation of the first digitalcertificate and the second digital certificate.

In some implementations, the system includes a management moduleconfigured to receive a request a request to change informationdisplayed upon the first digital certificate from the first student, andthe management module configured to update content displayed upon thefirst digital certificate to reflect the change requested.

In some implementations, the system includes a management moduleconfigured to receive a request a request to change informationdisplayed upon the first digital certificate from the first student, andthe management module configured to update content displayed upon thefirst digital certificate to reflect the change requested.

In some implementations, the system includes a management moduleconfigured to receive additional information related to the course fromthe first student and publish additional information on the firstwebpage including the first digital certificate.

In some implementations, the additional information includes a coursetranscript, a recommendation from a teacher providing the course, orwork product completed by the student during the course.

In some implementations, the management module is further configured toprovide a recommendation to the first student regarding another courseto complete, the recommendation based on one or both of the name of thecourse or the additional information provided by the first student.

Some of the subject matter described herein also includes a computerprogram product, comprising one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia having computer program instructions stored therein, the computerprogram instructions being configured such that, when executed by one ormore computing devices, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: receive organization informationrepresenting a name of an institution providing a course; receive groupinformation representing a name of the course; generate a digitalcertificate template representing a layout of information to bedisplayed upon digital certificates to be issued to students who havetaken the course, the information to be displayed upon the digitalcertificates including the name of the institution and the name of thecourse; receive a list of names of students who have completed thecourse, the list of names including a first student; and generate afirst digital certificate based on the digital certificate template andindicating that the first student has completed the course, thegenerating including generating a first webpage providing the firstdigital certificate as a representation that the first student hascompleted the course.

In some implementations, the first digital certificate includes contentindicating the name of the course, the name of the institution, and thename of the first student.

In some implementations, the list of names also includes a secondstudent, and the computer program instructions cause the one or morecomputing devices to: generate a second digital certificate based on thedigital certificate template and indicating that the second student hascompleted the course.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: generate a second webpage providing thesecond digital certificate as a representation that the second studenthas completed the course, each of the first webpage and the secondwebpage having different universal resource locators (URLs).

In some implementations, the URLs are based on a correspondingcertificate identifier determined upon generation of the first digitalcertificate and the second digital certificate.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: receive a request to change informationdisplayed upon the first digital certificate from the first student; andupdate content displayed upon the first digital certificate to reflectthe change requested.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: receive, from the first student,additional information related to the course; and publish the additionalinformation on the first webpage including the first certificate.

In some implementations, the additional information includes a coursetranscript, a recommendation from a teacher providing the course, orwork product completed by the student during the course.

In some implementations, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: provide a recommendation to the firststudent regarding another course to complete, the recommendation basedon one or both of the name of the course or the additional informationprovided by the first student.

Some of the subject matter described herein also includes a method,comprising: generating, by a processor, a digital certificate publishedon a webpage, the digital certificate representing completion of acourse that is provided by an institution by a student; receivingadditional information related to the course from the student, theadditional information including one or more of a course transcript, arecommendation from a teacher providing the course, or work productcompleted by the student for the course; publishing the additionalinformation on the webpage with the digital certificate; andrecommending the student to take another course or contact anotherstudent based on content of the additional information published on thewebpage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of managing digital certificates.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a block diagram for managing digitalcertificates.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of receiving group information.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of certificate information.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a certificate template.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of providing certificate link.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a certificate.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a dashboard for a certificate.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of additional information related to thecertificate.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an analytic dashboard regarding theuse of certificates.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of providing a recommendation based onthe certificate or additional information related to the certificate.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of components of a server for managingcertificates.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a computing device for managingcertificates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes devices and techniques for managing digitalcertificates. An organization such as a university, a trade school, acompany, etc. might provide certificates to students (e.g., universitystudents, employees, etc.) upon completion of training. For example, atrade school might offer a variety of courses for people to learn newskills. For each course completed by a student, a certificate can beprinted and mailed to the student to provide proof of the student'saccomplishment of completing the course. However, printing and mailingcertificates for each student can be expensive and time-consuming ifthere are hundreds or thousands of students enrolled in several courses.Additionally, printed certificates can be forged.

As described herein, digital certificates can be managed to easilyprovide and maintain certificates for students in a lower cost, lesstime-consuming, and more secure manner. In one example, an organizationcan provide organizational information (providing details regarding itsorganization name, name and position of an official such as John Doebeing an Executive Director, organization's logo, etc.), groupinformation (providing information regarding a course of study such as acourse name and description), certificate information (providing adesign or layout of a certificate), and recipient information (providingnames and contact information of students that should be providedcertificates) to a certificate server. This data can be stored and theserver can generate unique certificates for each of the studentsindicated in the recipient information and based on the organizationalinformation, group information, and certificate information. Eachcertificate can also be published on a webpage and accessible via aunique universal resource locator (URL), for example, by having eachcertificate associated with a unique identifier and the URL provided caninclude or be generated based on that unique identifier. Students canthen each be emailed a link (e.g., of the URL) to their certificate.When a student selects the link, the server can then provide access totheir digital certificate indicating the completion of coursework. Thelink can then be shared with others by the student to offer proof ofcompletion of the coursework.

The students can also manage their own certificates at the webpage. Forexample, a student can select for their certificate to be private (i.e.,no longer accessible to others via the webpage), promote the certificatevia other services (e.g., publish to a social media account), download acopy of the certificate, or even request the organization to modify thecontent of the certificate (e.g., to change the name on thecertificate). Additionally, the student can provide additionalinformation related to the coursework that resulted in the certificate,for example, grades, graded exams and/or papers, recommendations orreferences from the teacher, projects (e.g., code or art prepared duringthe coursework), etc.

Additionally, the organization can be provided with analytics regardingthe usage of the certificates by the students. For example, how oftencertificates are viewed, whether students are publishing certificatesvia other services, the type of additional information being provided,etc. can all be determined. Moreover, the organization can manage thecertificates, for example, by changing names (e.g., if students changenames, fix typos, etc.), changing the organization's name (e.g., if theorganization has changed its operating name), etc. The organization canalso revoke certificates.

In more detail, FIG. 1 illustrates an example of managing digitalcertificates. In FIG. 1, device 105 can be a computing device (e.g., atouchscreen tablet device, a laptop computer, desktop computer, etc.)used to provide a variety of information regarding certificates to bemanaged by server 110. For example, server 110 can receive organizationinformation 135 indicating a name of the organization (e.g., thecertification-granting authority), name of a director or administratorthat should be provided on certificates, a graphical image to beprovided as a logo on a certificate, etc. This information can bedisplayed as content on a certificate, as discussed later herein. Thisdata can also be used for many certificates for students who have takencourses with the organization.

In addition, server 110 can also be provided with group information 130.Group information 130 can indicate a course name and a description ofthat course (e.g., the topic of the course associated with what studentslearn when taking the course).

Certificate information 125 can also be received, and it can indicatethe type of information to be placed on a certificate and the layout ofthe information placed upon that certificate. For example, device 105can utilize a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) style of editorprovided on a web page hosted by server 110. Using this editor, varioustypes of information can be selected or indicated to be displayed on acertificate generated using certificate template 140. Additionally, theinformation can be moved around and placed at specific positions. Forexample, in FIG. 1, logo 175 can be the organization's graphical logo(as provided via organization information 135) and placed at itsposition as indicated in FIG. 1.

Certificate title 155, course name identifier 160, recipient nameidentifier 165, and issued on date identifier 170 can also be selectedto be published upon certificates. Course name identifier 160, recipientname identifier 165, and issued on date identifier 170 can beplaceholders for data that should be pulled from group information 130,recipient information 120, or generated upon the creation or publicationof a certificate based on certificate template 140. For example, thesame certificate template 140 can be used for different groupinformation for different courses. Thus, different group information 130being used can result in different content on certificates using thesame certificate template 140. Likewise, different students of recipientinformation 120 (as discussed later) result in different names publishedon a certificate generated using certificate template 140. Issued ondate identifier 170 can indicate that server 110 should determine thedate when a certificate is to be published and use that date on thecertificate.

Recipient information 120 can be a list of names of students andinformation related to the students such as their contact information(e.g., email address). The names can be used to be published on acertificate and the email can be used to communicate to the student thata certificate is available. In some implementations, the recipientinformation can be provided to credential server 110 in FIG. 1 in aspreadsheet. Server 110 can receive the spreadsheet and parse (e.g.,extract) the recipient names and emails from it. All of the informationreceived can be stored, for example, in a database on server 110.

Thus, a variety of data or information can be received and/or generated,including the creation of certificate template 140 used to generatecertificates such as certificate 150. Student 115 can then be providedcertificate link 145 providing access to certificate 150. For examplecertificate link 145 can be a URL generated by server 110 and providesaccess to certificate 150. As depicted in FIG. 1, certificate 150includes information regarding the course (e.g., “Lasso Skills 101”),the name of student 115 (e.g., “Seo-yun Park”), and the date thatcertificate 150 was generated by server 140 as the date it was issued(e.g., “Jan. 23, 2017”). Another student might receive anothercertificate link with a different URL providing access to anothercertificate for the same course, but with a different name. As a result,a digital certificate representing a credential of a student can begenerated and viewed.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a block diagram for managing digitalcertificates. In FIG. 2, organization information can be received (205).As previously discussed, this can include the name of the organization,the name of an employee or executive whose name can appear on acertificate as an authority figure authorizing the certificate, locationof the organization, etc. The information can be stored in a database,for example, of server 110 in FIG. 1.

Returning to FIG. 2, group information can be received (207). Theinformation can be also stored in a database, for example, of server 110in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of receiving group information.In FIG. 3, the group information can include a course name 305 (e.g.,“Lasso Skills 101”) and course description 310 (e.g., “Introduction tothe lasso. Students learn to use a loop of rope designed to restraincattle on ranches.”). The course description can provide a short summaryregarding the subject matter of the course. Whether the organization isa company or association, or a university or school can also beindicated.

Certificate information can also be received (210). The information canbe also stored in a database, for example, of server 110 in FIG. 1. FIG.4 illustrates an example of certificate information. As previouslydiscussed, the certificate information can indicate the type ofinformation to be placed on a certificate and the layout of theinformation and other content placed upon that certificate. For example,in FIG. 4, menu 405 can include a variety of types of certificateinformation that can be selected to be displayed upon a certificate viathe generation of a certificate template. This information can beselected from the organization information, group information, recipientinformation, or be generated by server 110. For example, in FIG. 4, the“[group.course_name]” can be an identifier indicating that someinformation from group information received in block 207 correspondingto the name of the course should be displayed. The course name on acertificate would be placed at the current location as indicated in FIG.4. If the user wanted to change the layout of the information of thecertificate, the identifier can be moved. Additionally, otheridentifiers can be added to include new content for the certificate.Graphics such as organizational logos, background images, etc. can alsobe placed.

Once the certification information is received, a certificate templatecan be generated (215). The information can be also stored in adatabase, for example, of server 110 in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 illustrates anexample of a certificate template. In FIG. 5, a visualization ofcertificate template 505 is shown with identifiers for a recipient name(e.g., the location for a name of a student to be placed on acertificate generated using certificate template 505), the date that thecertificate was issued on, and a certificate identifier. The certificateidentifier can be a unique identification (e.g., a unique number,letters, or combination of numbers and letters) that can be generated toidentify each unique certificate generated.

Recipient information can also be received (220). The information can bealso stored in a database, for example, of server 110 in FIG. 1. Therecipient information can indicate the names and contact information ofpersons who should receive a certificate based on certificate template505. For example, the names and email addresses can be received. Oncethe names are received, certificates can be generated (225). Forexample, using certificate template 505, and the various types of datareceived (e.g., organization information, group information, andrecipient information), a certificate can be generated for each personnamed in the recipient information. Additionally, each certificate thatis generated can be published on a webpage at a URL including a uniqueidentifier. For example, a webpage at a URL including the uniqueidentifier within its address can be generated and include thecredential. Thus, many webpages at unique URLs can be generated for eachof the certificates for the different recipients. Though the name of therecipients on the certificates are different, some of the informationsuch can be similar, for example, the course name as received via thegroup information.

A recipient can then receive a certificate link (230). For example,because the recipient information includes the email addresses for therecipients, each student can receive an email with the unique URL oftheir corresponding certificate. FIG. 6 illustrates an example ofproviding certificate link. In FIG. 6, correspondence 605 can be anemail provided to a recipient using the email address provided viarecipient information. As indicated in FIG. 6, the email can include theURL with a unique identifier identifying the certificate for that user.Returning to FIG. 2, if the recipient selects the link, the certificateserver can then provide the certificate (235). For example, thecertificate can be provided via a webpage hosted by server 110 fordisplay on a display screen of the computing device used by the studentselecting the link. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a certificate. InFIG. 7, certificate 705 is generated based on the certificate template.That is, certificate template 505 in FIG. 5 is used to generatecertificate 705 in FIG. 7 with the identifiers filled out with theappropriate information, for example, the recipient's name and thecourse name displayed upon certificate 705. In FIG. 7, the date that thecertificate was issued and the certificate identifier can also bedisplayed.

A recipient of the certificate can also be provided an opportunity witha variety of administrative functionalities for the certificate. FIG. 8illustrates an example of a dashboard for a certificate. In FIG. 8,certificate 705 is presented alongside an administrative control panel805 providing additional features for a certificate recipient (e.g., astudent). For example, in FIG. 8, the student can change the privacysettings for the certificate such that it is private (i.e., the URL forthe certificate no longer provides a webpage configured for the displayof certificate 705 unless the student himself or herself is logged intothe certificate server). Thus, the student can access the webpage usingthe URL for certificate 705 and change their privacy settings such thatcertificate 705 can no longer be available for the public. In someimplementations, the student can indicate that the certificate can beviewed upon the entry of a correct password. As a result, onlyauthorized persons would be able to view certificate 705.

Additionally, the student can promote certificate 705 onto a socialmedia account, add it to an email signature, or email it to someoneelse. For example, the student can publish a note regarding certificate705 onto a business-oriented social media platform (e.g., Linkedin®) sothat it is provided with other professional-related informationregarding the student such as resume details.

Moreover, administrative control panel 805 can offer the capabilitydownload a copy of certificate 705 (e.g., in an Adobe® PDF file format).This can be useful if the student wants to print out a paper copy ofcertificate 705. Moreover, administrative control panel 805 can alsooffer the student the opportunity to request modifications tocertificate 705. For example, if the student has married and changed hisor her name, then the student can request a name change. The student canprovide the name, the organization can receive a message from thecertificate server that the student has requested the name to bechanged, view the new requested name, and approve it. If approved, thename on certificate 705 can be updated to reflect the new requested namethat was approved.

The student can also provide additional information related to thecourse related to certificate 705. FIG. 9 illustrates an example ofadditional information related to the certificate. In FIG. 9, coursetranscript 905, final grade 910, and participation hours 915 can beadded by a student to provide additional information for others to view.This allows for the student to provide more information than just thecompletion or attendance of a course as indicated in the providing ofcertificate 705. The student can also include references,recommendations, examples of work product (e.g., software code, artcreated by the student, etc.) related to the course.

In some implementations, the additional information can be uploaded bythe student. In other implementations, the additional information can beprovided by the organization issuing certificate 705. For example, whencertificate 705 is generated by providing the various information asdiscussed above, the information can also include the additionalinformation such as a transcript, grade, teacher recommendation, etc.that can also be included on the webpage with certificate 705. In someimplementations, the student can select or indicate that the informationshould be provided. For example, server 110 can indicate that theorganization has also uploaded the aforementioned details regarding thestudent's participation in the course and the student can select whichones should be published with certificate 705. Thus, if a transcript andteacher recommendation are available, the student can decide to includethe teacher recommendation to be published with certificate 705, butexclude the transcript.

The organizations can also learn insights regarding their students fromthe use of the certificates. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of ananalytic dashboard regarding the use of certificates. In FIG. 10,analytics dashboard 1005 can provide information regarding how studentsare using their certificates. How often certificates within a group(e.g., for a particular course) are viewed, copies downloaded, how manytimes a certificate is published to a social media account or emailed toanother person, or how many certificates are associated with studentswho have added additional information as discussed with respect to FIG.9. This can provide an organization with some knowledge regarding whichcourses are more popular, or which courses provide students withinteresting material (e.g., examples of work product) that they like toprovide with their certificates.

The information corresponding to certificate 705 and the additionalinformation provided by the student as discussed above can also beanalyzed to provide recommendations regarding further courses that thestudent can register for, or other professionals that the student mightwant to contact for networking purposes. FIG. 11 illustrates an exampleof providing a recommendation based on the certificate or additionalinformation related to the certificate. In FIG. 11, certificateinformation can be determined (1105). For example, the name of thecourse, the type of field that the course is within (e.g., electricalengineering, history, etc.), the institution issuing the certificate(e.g., the university that the student attended for the course), etc.regarding certificate 705 that is published can be determined.Information regarding the additional information uploaded by the studentthat is related to the certificate can also be determined (1110). Forexample, the student can upload transcripts, information regarding afinal project for the course, etc. as previously discussed. The specifictypes of additional information, the content of the additionalinformation, etc. can be determined. A recommendation can then beprovided based on the determination (1115). For example, the student canbe recommended to take another course. For example, if the student isdetermined to have taken one course due to being issued certificate 705,and the student uploaded a transcript or other type of data indicatingthat their grade was a C (e.g., a grade within a range corresponding toa low grade), then they might be recommended to take a related course torelearn some of the subject matter. In some implementations, the studentcan then submit a request to register for the course. The request can bereceived by the server 110 so that the course provider can be informedthat the student wishes to enroll in another course. In another example,if the student had a grade of an A (e.g., a grade within a rangecorresponding to a high grade), then the student can be recommended totake a more advanced course that builds upon the subject matter of thecourse associated with certificate 705. In another example, the studentcan be recommended to contact, link or connect via professional socialnetworking site, etc. another student based on the determinations. Forexample, students taking similar courses might be employed in the sameindustry and, therefore, informing students of other students withsimilar experience with courses can provide an intuitive networkingopportunity. In some implementations, the grades of students as uploadedas additional information can be analyzed and students can berecommended to contact others based on the grades. For example, studentswith similar grades might be matched, or students with different gradesmight be matched for facilitate mentoring (e.g., a higher grade studentmight be matched with a lower grade student).

In some implementations, the certificates can have an expiration date.Thus, the certificate provided at the URL can be revoked (e.g., thewebpage at the URL can be removed, the certificate can no longer bepublicly accessible, etc.) upon the expiration date.

In some implementations, the organizations can also be provided with areadout of all of the credentials that they have issued, the studentswho have received credentials and which credentials they have received,and how many credentials they have issued.

In some implementations, the organizations can also modify the design ofthe credentials that have been previously issued. For example, inaddition to changing the names of a recipient, the layout of the contentof the credentials can be changed by adjusting the certificate template.For example, by moving the location of the identifier for a recipientname, the names of the students on the certificates that were previouslygenerated can be moved to the location as in the adjusted certificatetemplate. Thus, changing the certificate information that thecertificates were based on and result in those certificates to beupdated with the new certificate information. This can include movingthe location of some of the content of the certificates or even theaddition or removal of content to the certificates. For example, ifcertificate information such as the issue date identifier is removedsuch that the certificate template would no longer include it, then thegenerated certificates can be updated such that the issue dates are nolonger displayed upon the certificates.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of components of a server for managingcertificates. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a computing device formanaging certificates. In FIG. 13, server 110 includes a processor 1305,memory 1310 as well as other types of hardware such as non-volatilememory, an interface device, etc. to implement certificate logic 1330providing the techniques disclosed herein. For example, certificatelogic 1330 can include the components or modules depicted in FIG. 12,such as information management 1305 configured to receive and store thevarious types of organization, group, certificate, and recipientinformation as discussed herein, certificate generation 1310 to generatea certificate template and certificates based on the certificatetemplate, and certificate provisioning 1315 configured to publishcertificates and email recipients regarding their certificates.

Various common components (e.g., cache memory) are omitted forillustrative simplicity. The assistant device is intended to illustratea hardware device on which any of the components described in theexample of FIGS. 1-11 (and any other components described in thisspecification) can be implemented. The components of the assistantdevice can be coupled together via a bus or through some other known orconvenient device.

The processor 1305 may be, for example, a microprocessor circuit such asan Intel Pentium microprocessor or Motorola power PC microprocessor. Oneof skill in the relevant art will recognize that the terms“machine-readable (storage) medium” or “computer-readable (storage)medium” include any type of device that is accessible by the processor.Processor 1305 can also be circuitry such as an application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), structured ASICs, etc.

The memory is coupled to the processor by, for example, a bus. Thememory can include, by way of example but not limitation, random accessmemory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) and static RAM (SRAM). Thememory can be local, remote, or distributed.

The bus also couples the processor to the non-volatile memory and driveunit. The non-volatile memory is often a magnetic floppy or hard disk; amagnetic-optical disk; an optical disk; a read-only memory (ROM) such asa CD-ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM; a magnetic or optical card; or another formof storage for large amounts of data. Some of this data is oftenwritten, by a direct memory access process, into memory during theexecution of software in the computer. The non-volatile storage can belocal, remote or distributed. The non-volatile memory is optionalbecause systems can be created with all applicable data available inmemory. A typical computer system will usually include at least aprocessor, memory, and a device (e.g., a bus) coupling the memory to theprocessor.

The software can be stored in the non-volatile memory and/or the driveunit. Indeed, storing an entire large program in memory may not even bepossible. Nevertheless, it should be understood that for software torun, it may be necessary to move the software to a computer-readablelocation appropriate for processing, and, for illustrative purposes,that location is referred to as memory in this application. Even whensoftware is moved to memory for execution, the processor will typicallymake use of hardware registers to store values associated with thesoftware and make use of a local cache that, ideally, serves toaccelerate execution. As used herein, a software program is can bestored at any known or convenient location (from non-volatile storage tohardware registers).

The bus also couples the processor to the network interface device. Theinterface can include one or more of a modem or network interface. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that a modem or network interface canbe considered to be part of the computer system. The interface caninclude an analog modem, an ISDN modem, a cable modem, a token ringinterface, a satellite transmission interface (e.g., “direct PC”), orother interface for coupling a computer system to other computersystems. The interface can include one or more input and/or outputdevices. The input and/or output devices can include, by way of examplebut not limitation, a keyboard, a mouse or other pointing device, diskdrives, printers, a scanner, and other input and/or output devices,including a display device. The display device can include, by way ofexample but not limitation, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), or some other applicable known or convenient displaydevice.

In operation, the assistant device can be controlled by operating systemsoftware that includes a file management system, such as a diskoperating system. The file management system is typically stored in thenon-volatile memory and/or drive unit and causes the processor toexecute the various acts required by the operating system to input andoutput data, and to store data in the memory, including storing files onthe non-volatile memory and/or drive unit.

Some items of the detailed description may be presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to adesired result. The operations are those requiring physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electronic or magnetic signals capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and/or otherwisemanipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasonsof common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements,symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussion, those skilled in the art will appreciate that throughout thedescription, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or“computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or“generating” or the like refer to the action and processes of a computersystem or similar electronic computing device that manipulates andtransforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities withinthe computer system's registers and memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer system's memoriesor registers or other such information storage, transmission, or displaydevices.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatuses to perform the methods of some embodiments. The requiredstructure for a variety of these systems will be apparent from thedescription below. In addition, the techniques are not described withreference to any particular programming language, and variousembodiments may thus be implemented using a variety of programminglanguages.

In further embodiments, the assistant device operates as a standalonedevice or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the assistant device may operate in the capacityof a server or of a client machine in a client-server networkenvironment or may operate as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment.

In some embodiments, the assistant devices include a machine-readablemedium. While the machine-readable medium or machine-readable storagemedium is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, theterm “machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database and/or associated caches andservers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“machine-readable medium” and “machine-readable storage medium” shouldalso be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing,encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine, and which causes the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies or modules of the presently disclosed technique andinnovation.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of thedisclosure may be implemented as part of an operating system or aspecific application, component, program, object, module, or sequence ofinstructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programstypically comprise one or more instructions set at various times invarious memory and storage devices in a computer that, when read andexecuted by one or more processing units or processors in a computer,cause the computer to perform operations to execute elements involvingvarious aspects of the disclosure.

Moreover, while embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that thedisclosure applies equally, regardless of the particular type ofmachine- or computer-readable media used to actually effect thedistribution.

Further examples of machine-readable storage media, machine-readablemedia, or computer-readable (storage) media include, but are not limitedto, recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memorydevices, floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, opticaldisks (e.g., Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROMS), Digital VersatileDiscs, (DVDs), etc.), among others, and transmission type media such asdigital and analog communication links.

In some circumstances, operation of a memory device, such as a change instate from a binary one to a binary zero or vice-versa, for example, maycomprise a transformation, such as a physical transformation. Withparticular types of memory devices, such a physical transformation maycomprise a physical transformation of an article to a different state orthing. For example, but without limitation, for some types of memorydevices, a change in state may involve an accumulation and storage ofcharge or a release of stored charge. Likewise, in other memory devices,a change of state may comprise a physical change or transformation inmagnetic orientation or a physical change or transformation in molecularstructure, such as from crystalline to amorphous or vice-versa. Theforegoing is not intended to be an exhaustive list in which a change instate for a binary one to a binary zero or vice-versa in a memory devicemay comprise a transformation, such as a physical transformation.Rather, the foregoing is intended as illustrative examples.

A storage medium may typically be non-transitory or comprise anon-transitory device. In this context, a non-transitory storage mediummay include a device that is tangible, meaning that the device has aconcrete physical form, although the device may change its physicalstate. Thus, for example, non-transitory refers to a device remainingtangible despite this change in state.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the claimed subjectmatter has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the claimedsubject matter to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to one skilled in the art. Embodiments werechosen and described in order to best describe certain principles andpractical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the relevantart to understand the subject matter, the various embodiments and thevarious modifications that are suited to the particular usescontemplated.

While embodiments have been described in the context of fullyfunctioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a program product in a variety of forms and that thedisclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine-or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

Although the above Detailed Description describes certain embodimentsand the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appearsin text, the embodiments can be practiced in many ways. Details of thesystems and methods may vary considerably in their implementationdetails while still being encompassed by the specification. As notedabove, particular terminology used when describing certain features oraspects of various embodiments should not be taken to imply that theterminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specificcharacteristics, features, or aspects of the disclosed technique withwhich that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in thefollowing claims should not be construed to limit the disclosure to thespecific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless those termsare explicitly defined herein. Accordingly, the actual scope of thetechnique encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments but also allequivalent ways of practicing or implementing the embodiments under theclaims.

The language used in the specification has been principally selected forreadability and instructional purposes, and it may not have beenselected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Itis therefore intended that the scope of the technique be limited not bythis Detailed Description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of variousembodiments is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of thescope of the embodiments, which is set forth in the following claims.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments ofthe invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration,but that various modifications may be made without deviating from thescope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited exceptas by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for issuing and managing digital certificates forstudents of an educational institution or a business institutionproviding a course for study, the digital certificate providing anindication of completion of the course, the method comprising: receivingorganization information indicating a name of the educationalinstitution or the business institution providing the course; receivinggroup information indicating a name of the course; receiving certificateinformation indicating types of content to be displayed upon the digitalcertificates to be issued and positions of the content upon the digitalcertificates to be issued, the types of content selected from theorganization information and the group information; generating, by aprocessor, a digital certificate template corresponding to the digitalcertificates to be issued to recipient students of the course based onthe certificate information; receiving recipient information indicatingrecipient students who have completed the course and should be issueddigital certificates, the recipient information indicating respectivenames and email addresses for each of the recipient students;publishing, by the processor, respective digital certificates for eachof the recipient students based on the digital certificate template,each of the digital certificates including content based on thecertificate information and the name of the respective recipient studentas indicated by the recipient information, and each of the digitalcertificates published at a corresponding webpage having a correspondinguniversal resource locator (URL); sending emails to each of therecipient students based on the respective names and email addressesindicated in the recipient information, the emails providing each of therecipient students access to their corresponding digital certificatepublished upon the webpages by providing the corresponding URL;providing the digital certificates for display on webpages when therecipient students access the webpages via the corresponding URLs; andproviding a recommendation to each of the recipient students to contactanother student based on the digital certificate of the recipientstudent and additional information provided by the recipient student,the additional information including a transcript indicating a grade forthe course, a recommendation from a teacher providing the course, orwork product completed by the recipient student during the course.
 2. Amethod, comprising: receiving organization information representing aname of an institution providing a course; receiving group informationrepresenting a name of the course; generating, by a processor, a digitalcertificate template representing a layout of information to bedisplayed upon digital certificates to be issued to recipient studentswho have taken the course, the information to be displayed upon thedigital certificates including the name of the institution and the nameof the course; receiving a list of respective names of recipientstudents who have completed the course, the list of respective namesincluding a first recipient student; generating, by the processor, afirst digital certificate based on the digital certificate template andindicating that the first recipient student has completed the course,the generating including generating a first webpage providing the firstdigital certificate as a representation that the first recipient studenthas completed the course; and providing a recommendation to the firstrecipient student to contact a second student based on the first digitalcertificate and additional information provided by the first recipientstudent, the additional information including a transcript indicating agrade for the course, a recommendation from a teacher providing thecourse, or work product completed by the first recipient student duringthe course.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first digitalcertificate includes content indicating the name of the course, the nameof the institution, and the name of the first recipient student.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the list of names also includes a secondrecipient student, and the method further comprising: generating asecond digital certificate based on the digital certificate template andindicating that the second recipient student has completed the course.5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: generating a secondwebpage providing the second digital certificate as a representationthat the second student has completed the course, each of the firstwebpage and the second webpage having different universal resourcelocators (URLs).
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the URLs arebased on a respective corresponding certificate identifier determinedupon generation of the first digital certificate and the second digitalcertificate.
 7. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving arequest to change information displayed upon the first digitalcertificate from the first recipient student; and updating contentdisplayed upon the first digital certificate to reflect the changerequested.
 8. The method of claim 2, further comprising: publishing theadditional information on the first webpage including the first digitalcertificate.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein an additionalrecommendation to the first recipient student regarding another courseto complete is based on one or both of the name of the course or theadditional information provided by the first recipient student.
 10. Asystem, comprising: a database configured to store a name of aninstitution providing a course, group information representing a name ofthe course, and a digital certificate template representing a layout ofcontent to be displayed upon digital certificates published on webpagesfor recipient students who have completed the course; a digitalcertificate generation module including hardware configured to publish afirst digital certificate upon a first webpage at a first universalresource locator (URL) based on the digital certificate template, thefirst digital certificate representing that a first recipient studenthas completed the course, the first digital certificate including thename of the course and the name of the institution; a digitalcertificate provisioning module including hardware configured to providea first message to the first recipient student providing access to thefirst webpage with the first digital certificate at the first URL; and amanagement module including hardware configured to provide arecommendation to the first recipient student to contact a secondstudent based on the first digital certificate of the first recipientstudent and additional information provided by the first recipientstudent, the additional information including a transcript indicating agrade for the course, a recommendation from a teacher providing thecourse, or work product completed by the first recipient student duringthe course.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the first digitalcertificate includes content indicating the name of the course, the nameof the institution, and the name of the first recipient student.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the digital certificate template indicatespositions of the name of the course, name of the institution, and thename of the first recipient student to be displayed upon the firstdigital certificate.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the digitalcertificate generation module is configured to publish a second digitalcertificate upon a second webpage at a second URL different than thefirst URL and based on the digital certificate template, the seconddigital certificate also indicating that a second recipient student hascompleted the course, the first recipient student and the secondrecipient student being different.
 14. The system of claim 13, whereineach of the respective URLs are based on a corresponding certificateidentifier determined upon generation of the first digital certificateand the second digital certificate.
 15. The system of claim 11, whereinthe management module is further configured to: receive a request tochange information displayed upon the first digital certificate from thefirst recipient student, and update content displayed upon the firstdigital certificate to reflect the change requested.
 16. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the management module is further configured to:receive a request to change information displayed upon the first digitalcertificate from the first recipient student, and update contentdisplayed upon the first digital certificate to reflect the changerequested.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the management module isfurther configured to receive the additional information related to thecourse from the first recipient student and publish additionalinformation on the first webpage including the first digitalcertificate.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein an additionalrecommendation to the first recipient student regarding another courseis based on one or both of the name of the course or the additionalinformation provided by the first recipient student.
 19. A computerprogram product, comprising one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia having computer program instructions stored therein, the computerprogram instructions being configured such that, when executed by one ormore computing devices, the computer program instructions cause the oneor more computing devices to: receive organization informationrepresenting a name of an institution providing a course; receive groupinformation representing a name of the course; generate a digitalcertificate template representing a layout of information to bedisplayed upon digital certificates to be issued to respective recipientstudents who have taken the course, the information to be displayed uponthe digital certificates including the name of the institution and thename of the course; receive a list of names of recipient students whohave completed the course, the list of names including a first recipientstudent; generate a first digital certificate based on the digitalcertificate template and indicating that the first recipient student hascompleted the course, the generating including generating a firstwebpage providing the first digital certificate as a representation thatthe first recipient student has completed the course; and provide arecommendation to the first recipient student to contact a secondstudent based on the first digital certificate of the first recipientstudent and additional information provided by the first recipientstudent, the additional information including a transcript indicating agrade for the course, a recommendation from a teacher providing thecourse, or work product completed by the first recipient student duringthe course.
 20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein thefirst digital certificate includes content indicating the name of thecourse, the name of the institution, and the name of the first recipientstudent.
 21. The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the listof names also includes a second recipient student, and the computerprogram instructions cause the one or more computing devices to:generate a second digital certificate based on the digital certificatetemplate and indicating that the second recipient student has completedthe course.
 22. The computer program product of claim 21, the computerprogram instructions cause the one or more computing devices to:generate a second webpage providing the second digital certificate as arepresentation that the second recipient student has completed thecourse, each of the first webpage and the second webpage havingdifferent universal resource locators (URLs).
 23. The computer programproduct of claim 22, wherein each of the URLs are based on a respectivecorresponding certificate identifier determined upon generation of thefirst digital certificate and the second digital certificate.
 24. Thecomputer program product of claim 19, the computer program instructionscause the one or more computing devices to: receive a request to changeinformation displayed upon the first digital certificate from the firstrecipient student; and update content displayed upon the first digitalcertificate to reflect the change requested.
 25. The computer programproduct of claim 19, the computer program instructions cause the one ormore computing devices to: publish the additional information on thefirst webpage including the first digital certificate.
 26. The computerprogram product of claim 19, wherein an additional recommendation to thefirst recipient student regarding another course to complete is based onone or both of the name of the course or the additional informationprovided by the first recipient student.
 27. A method, comprising:generating, by a processor, a digital certificate published on awebpage, the digital certificate representing completion of a course bya first recipient student; receiving additional information related tothe course from the first recipient student, the additional informationincluding one or more of a course transcript indicating a grade for thecourse, a recommendation from a teacher providing the course, or workproduct completed by the first recipient student for the course;publishing the additional information on the webpage with the digitalcertificate; recommending the first recipient student to contact asecond student to facilitate mentoring between the first recipientstudent and the second student, the recommendation being based on thedigital certificate and content of the additional information publishedon the webpage, the second student being matched for mentoring based onthe grade for the course of the first recipient; and student and a gradefor the course for the second student.
 28. A method for managing adigital certificate issued to a recipient student of a course for studyprovided by an educational institution or a business institution, thedigital certificate providing an indication of completion of the course,the method comprising: receiving an email providing a message regardingan online publication of the digital certificate indicating completionof a first course by the recipient student, the email including auniversal resource locator (URL) to a webpage providing the digitalcertificate; displaying the webpage at the URL providing the digitalcertificate for the recipient student; uploading, by a processor,additional information regarding activities of the recipient studentrelated to the completion of the first course and for publication uponthe webpage providing the digital certificate, the additionalinformation including one or more of a course transcript indicating agrade for the first course, a recommendation from a teacher providingthe first course, or work product completed by the recipient studentduring the first course; receiving a recommendation to contact anotherstudent based on the first course indicated as completed by the digitalcertificate and the additional information regarding the activities ofthe recipient student related to the completion of the first course, theanother student being matched for mentoring based on a grade of thecourse for the another student being different from the grade for thecourse of the recipient student; and submitting a request to registerfor a second course provided by the educational institution or thebusiness institution.
 29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:submitting a request to update information related to the recipientstudent on the digital certificate published on the webpage; anddisplaying the webpage providing the digital certificate withinformation corresponding to the request.
 30. The method of claim 28,wherein the digital certificate includes content indicating the name ofthe course, the name of the educational institution or the businessinstitution, and the name of the recipient student.
 31. The method ofclaim 28, further comprising: modifying viewing permissions of thedigital certificate such that the digital certificate is no longeravailable for display at the webpage corresponding to the URL.